Observations by andymj

In forests farther north this flower has already bloomed and is wilting, so I found it interesting that the blooms were still healthy looking in this park.

I came across quite a few bracken ferns along the sides of the trail and growing amongst the other ferns in the valley and on the hillsides. They have a very slight alternating leaf pattern.

The ground was very moist in the park and occasionally there would be a small stream. The horsetails loved the area and were growing to heights above my hip in thick clusters.

The salmonberry bushes in Interlaken Park were extremely tall and towered way above my head. They were all full of large orange and red berries.

Interlaken Park had many tall Big Leaf maples. Most of them were covered in large carpets of moss, and this is a picture of one of the Big Leaf Maple's trunk.

This salamander was in an old storage shed. It did not move when approached for several minutes. It was a shiny maroon color.

This is a picture of moon snail eggs. The eggs are layed in a collar-like structure that resembles sand. There were a few moon snail collars on the beach today.

This bird's-foot trefoil was growing along the edge of the path that takes you out of the UBNA. It was in full bloom with brilliant yellow flowers in a unique crown-like design.

There was a male and a female mallard pruning their feathers by the edge of the pond. Every once in awhile a mother mallard duck would bring over her duckling to the shore.

There was a growth of bittersweet nightshade growing along the bank of the pond. It was in full flower, and the stems were a dark brown/purple.

There were a couple of blooming rhododendron plants growing quite tall both along the side of the road and nestled in the forest. The colors of the blooms ranged from various pinks to light purples.

This large twinberry bush was growing in the sunny field just outside of the old growth forest. It was blossoming yet and didn't show signs of the blossoms turning to berries just yet.

The tall oregon grape was growing on the edge of a steep embankment in the midst of the old growth forest. It was not blooming nor did it seem to have berries yet.

These medium height groundcover plants grew in many areas across the forest floor and interspersed with other groundcovers.

These tiny pinkish white flowers were growing in low patches along the edge of the pine-needle trail. The amount of leaves varied from plant to plant from two to five.

This tiny spider was moving around this sign post near the beginning of the waterfall trail by making small jerk-like jumps.

These water lilies were growing in the long pond bordering UBNA as well as in Lake Washington. These water lillies are invasive. They were not blooming as of yet.

I believe this is a black poplar tree. There were a few growing in the union bay natural area and were quite tall with branches that would shoot nearly straight up.

These turkey-tails were growing parallel to the ground along a log. They were not very large in size, and were spaced very close together.

Along the beginning of the trail there were several small oregon oak trees growing. Their leaves have a beautiful looping shape to them.

These forget-me-nots were growing in the water at the edge of the shore along the small pond that borders the start of UBNA.

These dandelion-like plants were growing sparingly throughout the UBNA. Their stems were taller, more wirey, and more firm than that of a dandelion.